Shelby County’s unemployment plummeted to 6.1 percent in August, the third best rate among the state’s 120 counties.

That rate, as announced by the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, was 2.1 points better than July and .9 of a point better than the 7.0 of August 2012.

That equaled Fayette and Oldham counties and was just behind Woodford County (5.5 percent) and Scott County (5.9).

Rates dropped in 90 counties statewide. Also among the top 10 counties were Carlisle County, 6.2 percent; and Daviess, Franklin, Jessamine and Owen counties, 6.3 each.
Harlan County recorded the state’s highest unemployment rate, at 16.3 percent.

Among other counties surrounding Shelby, Spencer was at 6.4 percent, Anderson at 6.6, Henry at 7.5, and Jefferson at 7.8.

Unemployment statistics are based on estimates and are compiled to measure trends rather than actually to count people working. Civilian labor force statistics include non-military workers and unemployed Kentuckians who are actively seeking work. They do not include unemployed Kentuckians who have not looked for employment within the past four weeks. The statistics in this news release are not seasonally adjusted because of the small sample size for each county. The data should only be compared to the same month in previous years.

Mount Eden fire ‘suspicious’

Firefighters are calling a fire on Beech Creek Road last week “suspicious” and have turned over the investigation to the state fire marshal’s office. The Mount Eden Fire Department responded to a call in the 1600 block of Beech Creek Road in Mount Eden midday on Thursday.

John Butler, who works in safety with Mount Eden Fire, said the residence, owned by Bobby Bohannon, sustained a moderate amount of fire and smoke damage on the inside, but the fire did not breach the exterior. “It was a pretty quick fire,” Butler said. “There was no damage to the exterior.”

However, the scene on the inside was enough to throw up a red flag to firefighters. “Some things on the inside appear to be suspicious,” Butler said. “So we turned it over to the state fire marshal.”
The Mount Eden Fire Department called for assistance from the Taylorsville-Spencer County Fire Department and one command unit and a tanker arrived on scene from TSCFD.

Another LRC complaint

Another Legislative Research Commission employee in Frankfort has reportedly alleged improper conduct by another Western Kentucky state legislator.

cn|2 Pure Politics reports on its Web site that Nicole Cusic says she was transferred against her will from one job in the LRC to another after she confronted Rep. Will Coursey from Graves County about his alleged improper behavior toward an LRC intern.

Cusic becomes the fourth LRC staffer to make such allegations recently and, according to cn|2, Cusic's attorney said she will file a lawsuit against the state agency, Coursey and former LRC director Bobby Sherman, who resigned from his post last week.
Three LRC staffers previously filed complaints against former state Rep. John Arnold of Sturgis. They claim Arnold sexually harassed them. Arnold has since resigned from his legislative post.
Coursey's attorney denied the allegations against his client and said Cusic had been a poor employee. The attorney said Cusic would have a hard time proving her claim of retaliation, cn|2 reported.

Southside SBDM meeting

Southside will have a special called meeting of its Site-Based Decision-Making Council at 5 p.m. Monday in the principal’s office.

Barcellona to speak at Rotary

Leigh Ann Cottongim Barcellona, owner of Barcellona Health Solutions, a licensed health specialist, will be the program speaker at the Shelbyville Rotary Club on Tuesday. Rotary meets at noon at Centenary United Methodist Church, located at the corner of Washington and 5th streets. Programs are open to the public, but there is a charge for the luncheon.

Road work, projects

KY 1399:The roadway will be closed from 9 a.m. Thursday to 5 p.m. Sunday between the railroad crossing and KY 1848 because of roadway relocation.

KY 55:Lane closures and delays are possible between Old Brunerstown Road and U.S. 60 because of a striping of new pavement. Lane closures also are possible between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. today while an engineering firm surveys for underground utilities near the bridge over Bullskin Creek. Motorists will be flagged through the work zone.

I-64:Overnight delays and lane closures are possible between Exit 28 and just east of Exit 32 to accommodate work on the road widening project. A 12-foot width restriction is in place for the westbound lanes.

KY 1848:Shoulder closures and construction delays are possible at the I-64 interchange because of roadway widening. One lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction. The speed limit is reduced to 35 MPH in the work zone.

KY 395:Lane closures and delays could occur from U.S. 60 for .6 of a mile south of this intersection because of laying of rumble strips.